March Events at The Museum of Flight

Highlights include expo for gliders, special event for unique navy jet

SEATTLE, Feb. 27, 2015--

Thursday, March 5
5 to 9 p.m.
The Museum of Flight
Wells Fargo Free First Thursday
Once a month, the Museum stays open late and admission is free. Enjoy the Museum's Great Gallery, Personal Courage Wing, and more, courtesy of Wells Fargo. Museum store and Wings Café will also remain open for the extended hours on this night.

Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Soaring Expo
The member clubs of the Seattle Glider Council present a glimpse into the fascinating world of motorless flight at Soaring Expo 2015 during the weekend of March 14-15. Full-size gliders and radio-controlled gliders will be on display. Lectures, movies and glider flight simulators are offered all weekend. Representatives of local soaring and RC glider clubs will be on hand to answer questions for anyone interested in pursuing the sport of soaring or becoming a glider pilot. Clubs include Evergreen Soaring and Puget Sound Soaring.

Saturday and Sunday, March 14-15
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Aviation Archaeology, Recovery, and Preservation Symposium
The Museum of Flight hosts the second annual two-day symposium about aviation archaeology on March 14-15. This year the symposium features an international team of experts on aircraft recovery and crash-site preservation. Their presentations will explore all aspects of aviation archaeology, with amazing stories of recovery operations from forests, frozen lakes and beneath the sea.

Saturday, March 21
11 a.m.
Author Amy Nathan Speaker Program and Booksigning
Amy Nathan is the author of "Yankee Doodle Gals," her popular National Geographic book about the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)of World War II. She will talk about the WASPs and sign copies of he book. First published in 2001, the new paperback edition includes new photos and text about the Congressional Gold Medal the WASPs received in 2010. Nathan's books examine topics in both civil rights and American women's history. She is one of the guest speakers for the Museum's WomenFly! three-day education event for young women, March 19-21.

Saturday, March 21
2 p.m.
Speaker Program with Jessica Cox
The Museum's three-day Women Fly! education event for young women concludes with keynote speaker Jessica Cox. Despite being born without arms, Cox learned to swim, drive a car, fly an airplane, surf, scuba dive, and live independently using primarily her feet to accomplish daily tasks. She is the first person without arms to earn a black belt in the American Taekwondo Association, and she holds the Guinness World Record for the first pilot to fly with her feet. She is an acclaimed inspirational speaker.

Wednesday, March 25
11 a.m.
XF8U-1 Crusader Celebration Ceremony
The Museum celebrates the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the Chance Vought XF8U-1 Crusader jet with a ceremony at the Museum's Restoration Center and Reserve Collection at Paine Field, Everett. The restoration of the historic plane was recently completed the Center. Former Crusader pilots and the aircraft's restoration team will speak at the ceremony. The Crusader was the first U.S. jet to exceed Mach 1 in level flight, and one of the most successful navy fighters in history, being in constant service until the French navy retired their F-8Ns in the year 2000. The Museum's plane is unique in the long line of Crusaders, being the prototype that made that landmark first flight.

Friday, March 27
10 a.m.
Live Coverage of Expedition 43 Rocket Launch
The Museum opens its movie theater for live coverage of the Soyuz TMA-16M rocket launch of NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko on Expedition 43 to the International Space Station. The two plan to spend a year in orbit, making the longest stay yet on the ISS.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, the independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, serving more than 560,000 visitors annually. The Museum's collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today's 787 Dreamliner. Attractions also include the original Boeing Company factory, and the world's only full-scale NASA Space Shuttle Trainer. The Museum's aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 150,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum's on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65 and older, $17 for active military, $12 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. McCormick & Schmick's Wings Café is on site. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org